1,911 Shares in Vistra Corp. $VST Acquired by Ewa LLC

Key Points

• Ewa LLC recently acquired 1,911 shares of Vistra Corp., worth approximately $370,000, indicating growing institutional interest in the company.
• CEO James A. Burke sold 21,378 shares valued at over $4.3 million, resulting in a 7.91% decrease in his ownership stake.
• Vistra Corp. announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.226 per share, reflecting a positive change from the previous dividend of $0.23.

Ewa LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,911 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $370,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HM Payson & Co. lifted its stake in Vistra by 275.4% in the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 229 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA lifted its stake in Vistra by 132.0% in the first quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA now owns 232 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its stake in Vistra by 48.4% in the second quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 239 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in Vistra in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in Vistra in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO James A. Burke sold 21,378 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.94, for a total transaction of $4,317,073.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 249,016 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,286,291.04. This represents a 7.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 319,073 shares of company stock worth $66,162,313 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

Vistra Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of Vistra stock opened at $201.33 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $200.24 and a 200-day moving average of $169.00. The stock has a market cap of $68.21 billion, a PE ratio of 32.11, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.33. Vistra Corp. has a 52-week low of $90.51 and a 52-week high of $219.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.62). The business had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 108.41%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 19th were given a dividend of $0.226 per share. This is a positive change from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 19th. Vistra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Melius Research upgraded shares of Vistra to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Vistra from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $227.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $230.00 target price (down from $241.00) on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $191.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $218.20.

About Vistra

Vistra Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated retail electricity and power generation company. The company operates through six segments: Retail, Texas, East, West, Sunset, and Asset Closure. It retails electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers across states in the United States and the District of Columbia.

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